Concern of businesses managers is well warranted

WELLINGTON, 25 September 2013 – An overwhelming majority of business leaders believe their customers and clients worry about breaches of personal data held by their organisations, according to survey results announced today by Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS).

Recent Unisys-sponsored research conducted by IDG Connect found that 91 percent of business decision makers surveyed were concerned about their customers’ perceptions of their organisation’s ability to protect personal data, with 65 percent of decision makers reporting they believe customers are “very concerned.”

The survey also found that business leaders perceive numerous security threats to their data and IT infrastructures, with nearly three-quarters of those surveyed concerned about attacks on their wireless infrastructure (74 percent) or network defences (72 percent). Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) said they were concerned about breaches or attacks on their cloud applications and mobile devices.

“Business and technology decision makers are seeing threats from all directions and are looking for new ways to protect their organisations and their clients,” said Steve Vinsik, vice president of global security solutions at Unisys. “This survey shows that a majority of them are looking for new ways to increase the flexibility of their security solutions, manage costs and address evolving security challenges. It also illustrates that security is no longer considered only an IT challenge, but a business challenge as well.”

The survey showed that business decision makers were somewhat more concerned than their technology-focused counterparts about customer anxiety over personal data protection, with 80 percent of business decision makers reporting they are very concerned about their customers’ perceptions of data protection, versus 69 percent of technology decision makers.

The results echo findings of the annual Unisys Security Index earlier this year. The Unisys Security Index, which regularly surveys more than 1,000 Americans on various areas of security concern, showed high levels of concern about data breaches among U.S. consumers. Respondents to that survey said they were most worried about data breaches hitting their banks and financial institutions, with two-thirds (67 percent) reporting concern. A majority of Americans surveyed also reported concern about data breaches involving government agencies (62 percent), health organisations (60 percent) and telecommunications and internet service providers (59 percent).

The recent survey of enterprise executives, conducted for Unisys by IDG in July 2013, went out to more than 100 U.S. business and technology decision makers at organisations with 1,000 or more employees. The survey was designed to identify respondents’ perceptions of network and data security.

Nearly all of the decision makers surveyed expressed an awareness of their organisation’s vulnerability as well as openness to considering alternate cybersecurity approaches, including software-based solutions as opposed to traditional hardware perimeter-based solutions.

About Unisys
Unisys is a worldwide information technology company. We provide a portfolio of IT services, software, and technology that solves critical problems for clients. We specialise in helping clients secure their operations, increase the efficiency and utilisation of their data centres, enhance support to their end users and constituents, and modernise their enterprise applications. To provide these services and solutions, we bring together offerings and capabilities in outsourcing services, systems integration and consulting services, infrastructure services, maintenance services, and high-end server technology. With approximately 22,500 employees, Unisys serves commercial organisations and government agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.

About Unisys Asia Pacific
In Asia Pacific, Unisys delivers services and solutions through subsidiaries in New Zealand, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan and through distributors or resellers in other countries in the region. For more information visit www.unisys.com.au
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